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Itinéraires par région

This viewpoint reveals a vast panorama of the maritime façade of the present-day commune of Lumiu: at the heart of this panorama is the Spanu valley which extends, in the upper part, from a small pass bordering the neighbouring commune of Lavatoghiu up to the rocky point of Spanu which faces the islet of the same name. This valley is emblematic of the fate of the coastal populations of Corsica over the centuries: between periods of prosperity and periods of great insecurity arising from the sea. There are two possibilities for the origin of its name: first of all, the adjective spanu, which in Corsican designates a brown ashen colour with a reddish glow, typical of certain animal coats, but also of the plant cover existing in this place. Or again the name spannu which translates a revelation, an unveiling. Around the 5th century, this basin was covered by a diffuse habitat where a small group of dwellings called capo a le pagliaje sprang up, which prefigured the hamlet of Spanu adjacent to the stream of the same name. Two churches bear witness to the presence of these coastal populations: Sant'Ambrosgiu di Spanu, a medieval church that can be dated to the 11th century, built on the remains of an early Christian building from the 4th or 5th century, and San Niculaiu di Spanu dating from the end of the 11th century. Both sanctuaries were donated by the local lords to the Italian abbey of San Venerio del Tino located in Porto Venere in the Gulf of La Spezia. This peaceful coastline was first subjected to the exactions of the Vandals from 455 A.D., to those of the Moors from the 8th century onwards and then to the barbarian raids, forcing the population to gradually abandon the plain, the source of their livelihood, to take refuge on the naturally defensive heights of Occi.

Lumio

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